


Moonlighting

by realityisoverrated



Series: Infinite Love [98]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Polyamory, Polyfidelity, Smoaking billionaires, Toliver, flommy, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-10 11:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10436547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realityisoverrated/pseuds/realityisoverrated
Summary: Ray Palmer arrives unannounced at Felicity's office and asks for a favor.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This story depicts a polyamorous relationship between one woman and two men. If this is not something you are interested in, please stop and go no further. 
> 
> I'm not telling this series in chronological order. Some readers have requested that I provide a chronological order for the fics in the series. There is no need to read them in chronological order, but in case you'd like to, the list is below. This installment is 41/98. (There is a known issue at AO3. If viewing the stories from the series page, the story numbers aren't always correct. The story number when you open the individual stories is correct).  
> 1\. Beautiful Stranger (Part 28)  
> 2\. The Hack of the Golden Dragon (Part 36)  
> 3\. Two Lights (Part 96)  
> 4\. Girl Wednesday (Part 41)  
> 5\. This Time Last Year (Part 44)  
> 6\. We’ve Got Tonight (Part 85)  
> 7\. The First Time (Part 1)  
> 8\. Distraction (Part 95)  
> 9\. The Interim CEO (Part 88)  
> 10\. Aloe and Chamomile (Part 40)  
> 11\. The Italian Restaurant (Part 3)  
> 12\. Ground Rules (Part 43)  
> 13\. Do The Hustle (Part 21)  
> 14\. The Secret Ingredient (Part 65)  
> 15\. Wherever You Are, There I Am (Part 8)  
> 16\. Perfect (Part 16)  
> 17\. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (Part 49)  
> 18\. Practical Jokes and Other Misunderstandings (Part 14)  
> 19\. Incentives (Part 93)  
> 20\. Cobble Hill (Part 4)  
> 21\. The Sunnybrook (Part 51)  
> 22\. House Warming (Part 15)  
> 23\. 30 (Part 30)  
> 24\. Hong Kong (Part 35)  
> 25\. Twenty Questions Over Brunch (Part 11)  
> 26\. When A Kiss Is Not A Kiss (Part 86) (  
> 27\. Hildy (Part 5)  
> 28\. Burgers & Lies (Part 9)  
> 29\. You Say You Want A Revolution (Part 22)  
> 30\. Unexpected Gifts (Part 70)  
> 31\. Look Me In The Eye And Make Me Feel The Truth (Part 12)  
> 32\. Fight Night (Part 20)  
> 33\. Fear and Loathing (Part 42)  
> 34\. With The Band (Part 53)  
> 35\. The Scarecrow (Part 59)  
> 36\. An Island Of His Own Making (Part 74)  
> 37\. Pas de Deux (Part 75)  
> 38\. Take It Back (Part 76)  
> 39\. Alumni Of The Year (Part 90)  
> 40\. Into Thin Air (Part 17)  
> 41\. Moonlighting (part 98)  
> 42\. Haunted (Part 58)  
> 43\. It Sings To Me (Part 84)  
> 44\. Ask Me And I’ll Tell You No Lies (Part 94)  
> 45\. Let The Sun Shine (Part 92)  
> 46\. It’s Just Like Falling (Part 27)  
> 47\. Will You Still Love Me, Tomorrow? (Part 7)  
> 48\. Life With The Arrow (Part 23)  
> 49\. Up All Night (Part 6)  
> 50\. Welcome Home (Part 10)  
> 51\. Deadshot (Part 62)  
> 52\. Better Than Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes (Part 24)  
> 53\. The Right To Remain Silent (Part 61)  
> 54\. Home Is Where You Are (Part 2)  
> 55\. Somebody Get A Hammer (Part 26)  
> 56\. Tush Push (Part 48)  
> 57\. Elves (Part 68)  
> 58\. Three (Part 13)  
> 59\. Life Lived In The Tabloids (Part 18)  
> 60\. Baby Talk (Part 91)  
> 61\. Tokyo Calling (Part 25)  
> 62\. Something Blue (Part 39)  
> 63\. I Do. I Do. I Do. (Part 82)  
> 64\. Prudence Chastity (Part 19)  
> 65\. Love Is Worth It In The End (Part 33)  
> 66\. The Mini (Part 38)  
> 67\. The Hall of Fame (Part 46)  
> 68\. A Name By Any Other (Part 47)  
> 69\. The Drop Out (Part 32)  
> 70\. Homework (Part 64)  
> 71\. The Investigation (Part 97)  
> 72\. Count Your Blessings (Part 71)  
> 73\. William (Part 29)  
> 74\. Hold On For One More Day (Part 31)  
> 75\. I Have No Gifts To Bring (Part 72)  
> 76\. Yours, Mine, Ours (Part 37)  
> 77\. Rules Are Made To Be Broken (Part 55)  
> 78\. The Forty-Year-Old Graduate (Part 78)  
> 79\. Take Me Out To The Ballgame (Part 83)  
> 80\. Hope Is Believing In The Light When All You See Is Darkness (Part 52)  
> 81\. Emma (Part 77)  
> 82\. Open Up And Say Ah (Part 60)  
> 83\. Tommy Merlyn’s No Good, Very Bad, Terrible Day (Part 81)  
> 84\. I Would Not Trade What Might Have Been For What Is (Part 50)  
> 85\. Brothers (Part 45)  
> 86\. Saturdays With The Green Arrow (Part 34)  
> 87\. True Love (Part 87)  
> 88\. Hallelujah (Part 69)  
> 89\. The Green Arrow Did It (Part 73)  
> 90\. Strawberry Milkshake With A Side Of Why (Part 56)  
> 91\. All About The Jeans (Part 54)  
> 92\. A Bunny For Prue (Part 63)  
> 93\. Day 107 (Part 67)  
> 94\. Genius Child (Part 89)  
> 95\. Boys Who Kiss Boys Who Kiss Girls Who Kiss Boys Who Kiss Boys (Part 57)  
> 96\. Scars (Part 79)  
> 97\. Tummy Aches and Heart Aches (Part 66)  
> 98\. Gut Punch (Part 80)
> 
> Welcome to any new readers who have stumbled into this universe. The more the merrier.
> 
> Arrow and its characters do not belong to me.

>

Artwork by Lademonessa

 

Felicity didn't look up when her assistant stepped into her office.  Jerry came and went as he felt necessary.  He would bring her files, or her lunch, drop them off and disappear.  Jerry would hand her notes about callers, waiting visitors, and he'd learned her signals for, five more minutes, tell them I'll call back, or reschedule.  When no wasn’t an option, he’d stand over her and stare until she took the hint and stood up.  He'd hold her suit jacket for her and give her a quick rundown of who she was meeting with and why.  He was her right hand man and indispensable.  They had a rhythm and routine that had been finely honed over the years.

Felicity put her conference call with Amsterdam on hold when she realized Jerry was shifting nervously from foot to foot.  Only Oliver had the power to make Jerry that nervous.  "What's wrong?"

"I messed up.  Ray Palmer is in the lobby.  He brought you lunch.  I don't have him on the calendar.  I must've missed a message from you.  I'm sorry, Felicity," Jerry looked beside himself.

"I don't have plans with Ray Palmer - none that I remember making." Felicity frowned, "Did he say what he wants?"

"He said he had a working lunch scheduled with you," Jerry informed her.

Curious what the eccentric tech billionaire wanted, she told Jerry, "Bring him up."

Felicity wrapped up per call with Amsterdam and strode out to her reception area.  Ray was standing with a laptop bag and takeout that smelled like Chinese.  "Mr. Palmer," she extended her hand, "I don't remember scheduling a meeting."

Ray looked sheepish, "We didn't.  I'm sorry, Ms. Smoak, I know I shouldn't have lied to your assistant, but I'm desperate. I'm having a problem and you're the only one who can help me.  I just flew in from Ivy Town."

Intrigued, Felicity gestured for Ray to enter her office.  Once they were inside, she sat down at a table she used for small meetings. "My curiosity is definitely stoked, Mr. Palmer."

"Please, call me Ray," he said as he unpacked the food.  "I got a variety - no nuts.  Have you eaten?  I figured you probably haven't because, if you're anything like me, nothing stops you once you get going."

Felicity smiled, "I'm the same way.  Thank you," she said as she grabbed the lo mein and a pair of chopsticks.  "So, what's this problem you're having?"

Ray opened his laptop bag and pulled out a device slightly larger than a typical tablet.  He placed the equipment on the center of the table and powered it on.  He walked to her windows and took hold of the blinds, "May I?"

"Please," Felicity gestured towards her window as she studied the device on her table.

Once the shades were drawn, the only illumination in her office was provided by the small machine on the table.  Ray returned to his seat, "My fiancé and I came to town three years ago - the week before our wedding.  Anna grew up here and it was important to her to have the wedding in Starling."

Felicity touched Ray's hand briefly.  She knew all too well what happened to Anna Loring, daughter of the Queen family attorney, Jean Loring, the week before her wedding.  Anna was one of many of Slade Wilson's siege victims.  Tommy and Felicity had attended her funeral on behalf of Oliver and Thea, who were too grief stricken to attend.  Oliver had been consumed with guilt for missing his own mom's funeral and couldn't bring himself to attend Anna's.  "I'm sorry for your loss.  I was at Anna's funeral."

Ray smiled sadly, "I'm sorry, I don't remember."

"I don't expect you too.  You had other things on your mind," she said kindly.

"Those - men," he said angrily, "killed her right in front of me.  They'd broken my leg and I couldn't help her.  I promised myself, I'd never be helpless like that again."

He touched the device and a holographic 3-D projection of what appeared to be a suit of armor hovered over her tabletop.

Felicity stood up and walked around the table, "What is it?"

"It's an Advanced Technology Operating Mechanism, but I call it A.T.O.M.," he said with pride.

The designs looked eerily familiar and Felicity began to feel sick to her stomach.  Ray's suit was similar to one of the O.M.A.C. projects Oliver had discontinued.  O.M.A.C. only existed as encrypted files on one of her servers in the basement of their Cobble Hill home. "What do you want from me?"

"From your face, I'd say you recognize the suit," Ray said cautiously.

She nodded, but offered no further explanation.

"When I was in grad school, working on my second dissertation, I was hired by the government to consult on a project being run by Queen Consolidated.  The project was called O.M.A.C.  This suit is based off one of the designs I saw while working on the project."

"Why are you building a weapon?  If you want to sell this to the government, Queen Consolidated will sue you for patent infringement and corporate espionage.  I'm sure you signed a nondisclosure agreement."

Ray held up his hands in supplication, "I'm not selling it to the government.  I think you and Oliver were right to abandon O.M.A.C.  No government should have that power."

"But you should?" she challenged.

"While I was recovering from my injuries here in Starling, I read up on the Green Arrow.  He inspired me.  I want to use the suit to fight criminals so there's never another Anna."

"You want to be a vigilante?" she asked with disbelief.  Felicity couldn't reconcile the awkward scientist she respected with the man seated before her.  "You'll get yourself killed."

"I don't want to be a vigilante. I will only use nonlethal force and provide support to the police when needed," Ray said earnestly.

All Felicity could think about was the fit Oliver and Diggle were going to throw when she told them what Ray was up to.  "What help do you think I can give you?"

Ray pushed a button on the device and the suit was replaced by schematics and a few formulas. "I can't find a power source that won't overheat and roast me and still be able to power this for flight. Every time I perform a simulation, there is a somatic overload and the suit explodes."

"Your suit flies?" she asked with shock. The O.M.A.C.  suit didn't fly.

"It's one of the upgrades I made.  The suit will also have the ability to repulse bullets - if I can find the right power source."

Felicity was flattered by Ray's faith in her abilities, but she remained wary of what his plans were, "Why come to me?"

"Everyone knows QC is working on a battery.  I was hoping you could take a look at mine and let me know what you think." He reached into his bag and removed a metal sphere the size of a baseball.  Ray held it out to her, "This keeps overheating."

Felicity took hold of the battery. It was surprisingly light for its size. She was dying to open it up and look inside to see how it compared to the battery they were working on.  Her batteries were continuing to overheat too.  Curtis, was currently playing around with a type of alloy called, dwarf star. It had unique properties that were ideal for a battery.  It was an excellent conductor of electricity - extremely efficient with close to zero energy loss.  They just hadn't figured out how to get it to work in their battery.  She placed Ray's battery down, "I don't think I can help you."

"Please, Felicity, you're my last hope.  I don't need you to share QC secrets, I just need someone to bounce ideas off of."

"Why me?  There are lots of smart people out there who could help you."

"When we met, I thought we had a connection - not a connection connection, but a connection.  You understood everything I said about my work and even finished a few of my sentences.  If I thought you'd leave QC, I'd offer you any job you want at Palmer Tech." Ray took hold a Felicity's hand, "Please, I promised Anna I'd never let this happen again."

Felicity glanced at the schematic and was intrigued by what she saw, "Okay, I promise to look at what you have while we're eating lunch. That's all the time I can give you." She sat back down, "Fill me in."

Ray smiled with relief and handed her back her container of lo mein, "Thank you."

One week later, Felicity was seated in her server room in the basement of her Cobble Hill home.  It was after three in the morning and the guys were sound asleep.  She was dressed in a bulky sweater, fleece socks and fingerless gloves to combat the cold of the server room.  She was waiting for the O.M.A.C.  files to decrypt so she could look at the schematics for the O.M.A.C. suit.  She wasn't convinced that the battery was the problem.  She believed that the processor for the neural interface was drawing too much power.  Felicity was trying to convince Ray he had to go smaller.  He had sent her design specs for the nanotechnology he was developing to see if they inspired her.

The overhead light flipped on and she blinked her eyes to adjust from the overly bright light.  Oliver stood in the doorway with a scowl on his face, "Are we getting hacked?"

"No, everything is fine.  I couldn't sleep.  My brain won't shut off.  I came down here to work.  Why are you up?"

"I can't sleep if you're not next to me," Oliver smiled sleepily and extended his hand.  "Come back to bed.  You need to sleep.  You've been working long hours all week."

Felicity kissed him chastely, "Go back to bed. I'm fine."

Oliver's eyes narrowed with suspicion, "You have two offices in this house.  Why are you down here in a room cold enough to store meat?  It's freezing in here."

"I'm just running a diagnostic," she said evasively.

"You ran a diagnostic over the weekend," Oliver reminded her. "Has something happened?"

Before she could respond her laptop chimed to alert her the files she wanted were decrypted.  The word O.M.A.C. floated across the screen.

Oliver stepped around her and lifted her laptop, "Why are you looking at O.M.A.C. files?"

"I thought one of the schematics could help me on a project I'm working on," she answered truthfully.

"Which project?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

Felicity opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't bring herself to lie to Oliver.  She didn't lie, especially not to him.  "It's not for QC," she hoped Oliver would drop it.

"Something for the team?" he looked up from her laptop.

"No."

Oliver put her laptop down, "You're working on a project that's not for QC and not for the team? Are you about to put me out of business by opening your own company or are you moonlighting at another company?" he teased.

"Not exactly," she said nervously.  Felicity was having fun helping Ray.  She'd lost herself in the work and hadn't told Oliver or Tommy what she was doing, or, who she was doing it with.  She was aware that it had been a stupid omission and knew that it would seem like she was deliberately hiding something.

"Wait, is Malcolm threatening you?" he asked with alarm.

"No, no.  Oliver, it has nothing to do with Malcolm." Felicity tried to reassure him.

"Fe-lic-i-ty," Oliver exaggerated her name, "the truth, please."

"I'm helping Ray Palmer with something - but, it's not corporate espionage," she said quickly.

Oliver looked flabbergasted, "I don't think you're spying on QC, but why are you helping the competition?"

"I'm not helping Palmer Tech, I'm helping Ray," Felicity tried to explain.

"I don't understand," Oliver continued to look confused.

Felicity opened her laptop to show Oliver the A.T.O.M. suit, "He wants to become a vigilante."

The veins in Oliver's neck and forehead began to bulge as he looked at the A.T.O.M.  suit.  Felicity was worried he was going to have a stroke.

"Oliver?"

"No," he said sharply.  "You're done helping him.  Re-encrypt those files." Oliver stormed from the room. 

Felicity followed after him, "You don't get to tell me what to do."

He angrily pointed to the server room, "Technically, those plans belong to me." Oliver's eyes narrowed at her, "How did he even get the designs?  Did you give them to him?"

Felicity was furious that Oliver would even think she'd give Ray designs that belong to QC.  "Of course not," she shouted in her loud voice.  "He worked with your dad on O.M.A.C.  while he was in grad school."

Oliver's eyes went wide with surprise before his anger returned, "No one should have that tech."

"Ray's not a government.  He's not a criminal," Felicity defended her new friend.  "Look at all the philanthropy he does."

"I have a little notebook full of names of philanthropic criminals," Oliver scoffed.  "I've put my fair share of them in the ground and in prison."

Felicity rolled her eyes and Oliver ran up the basement stairs.  She grabbed her laptop and slowly climbed the stairs after him. Part of her hoped that he’d gone back to bed, but, instead, she found him pacing in the kitchen.  Oliver was running his hands over his head as he muttered to himself.

"Oliver," she said as she placed her laptop on the counter, "Ray is a good man."

"Does the suit have weapons?" He asked as he continued to pace.

"It can emit focused compressed light beams and electrical pulses that are nonlethal," she replied.

"But they could be recalibrated to be lethal?"

"Yes."

Oliver stopped pacing and looked at her, "Felicity, what are you doing? Don't we deal with enough crazy without you inviting more to the party?"

"He's trying to honor the woman he loved and lost.  How is that any different from what you're doing to honor your father?" she tried to reason.

"Because, I know what I'm doing," he shouted. "I've been trained.  Has Ray had any combat training?  Does he have any tactical training?"

"No, but neither did Roy when he first started."

"Roy knew how to throw and take a punch and he had Dig and me to train him.  Ray has no experience and he's just going to go out on the street shooting people with laser beams?  You think that's a good idea?"

Felicity chose to ignore Oliver's erroneous comment about laser beams.  "No, I told him that he was going to get himself killed," Felicity admitted.

"Then why are you helping him?" he shouted with frustration. 

"He needed help and," Felicity looked down at her feet, "it's a puzzle I need to solve."

"God damn it, Felicity.  You're going to put a mechanized soldier on the street with no training, all because you're curious?"

"He thought he was having a battery problem.  I thought helping him would jar something loose in here," she tapped her forehead.  "I'm stuck and the dwarf star isn’t coming along as we'd hoped.  We're stalled and we have to report our progress to the board in a few weeks."

"Don't," he said angrily, "try to play this off like you did this for QC.  You did this to spend time with Palmer."

Felicity was stunned by his accusation.  She stood in the middle of their kitchen unable to wrangle her thoughts as they raced through her head.  Her hands began to shake, "You better not be accusing me of having an affair, Oliver Queen. Jealousy is a really unattractive quality."

"Hey," Tommy said sharply, causing his partners to turn around.  "What the hell is going on?"

Felicity and Oliver stood and stared at Tommy.  His eyes were heavy with sleep, his hair was tousled and he had a crease on his cheek from his pillow.  Felicity felt guilty for waking him up.  Tommy was barley sleeping since they returned home after defeating Ra's al Ghul.

Felicity's voice became gentle, "Babe, I'm sorry we woke you." She placed a reassuring hand on his chest.  The feel of his bones beneath her fingers made her want to cry. She seemed to be getting stronger since they'd gotten home and he seemed to be getting weaker. It was almost like he used all of his strength to keep her alive and, now that she was safe, he was disappearing in front of her. The last thing Tommy needed to worry about was Ray Palmer and his suit.  "Oliver and I were just having a disagreement about work.  Everything is fine."

Oliver snorted derisively and Felicity spun to face him.  Her eyes went wide and she tilted her head towards Tommy.  Oliver instantly realized what she was admonishing him for and the tension eased from his shoulders.

"Felicity is right," Oliver tenderly ran his hand down Tommy's arm, "it's a stupid fight about work. It's nothing for you to worry about."

Tommy closed his eyes and sighed, "I'm not deaf.  I heard what - who you were fighting about." He opened his eyes and looked at Felicity, "What's going on with you and Ray?"

"I'm helping Ray build an exosuit to help him fight crime. He wants to be a vigilante," Felicity responded.

Tommy's jaw began to twitch, "Three vigilantes in Starling and one in Central City aren't enough?  You need someone in Ivy Town too? Do I need to put on leather and a mask to get your attention?"

"Tommy?" Felicity asked with concern.

"Is Ray's suit why I haven't had more than a three word conversation with you all week?" Tommy asked quietly.

"I know what you're thinking, but I'm not providing tech support.  I'm not going to be Overwatch for Ray.  He needed help with a problem and the problem was interesting and got me excited.  I just wanted to see if I could solve it," she hoped Tommy would understand. "I lost myself in the work, I'm sorry."

Tommy's face softened and he shifted his weight, "My girl and her big brain.  You can't resist a puzzle."

Felicity looked to Oliver, "Tommy understands, why can't you?"

"I do understand, but," Oliver shook his head, "Tommy and I aren't mad about the same thing.  You're involving yourself in something dangerous.  You're potentially putting a dangerous man on the street.  There's a reason we shelved these projects.  Someone could get hurt.  You could get hurt." Oliver cupped her cheeks, "We came so close to losing you.  I need you to be safe and I can't keep you safe if I don't know what you're doing."

"Oliver, I love you, but this is my choice to help Ray.  With my help, maybe, he won't end up dead."

Oliver dropped his hands and groaned in frustration.  He looked to Tommy for help.

Tommy shook his head, "I don't think I can help on this one.  I can see both sides."

"What if I introduced Ray to the Green Arrow?  You could listen to his plan, and if you still think he's wrong, I'll stop helping him and - you can put an arrow in him," she smiled hopefully.

Oliver studied her face for thirty seconds, "If I decide he's a danger to himself or anyone else, you'll stop?"

"Yes," she promised.

"Okay," Oliver agreed.  "Set up a meeting."

Felicity rushed into his arms, "Thank you."

"No more secrets about this," Oliver whispered against her ear.

"No more secrets," she made a cross over her heart.

"Let's go back to bed," Oliver took her hand and reached for Tommy.

Felicity reached for her laptop, "But I wanted to look at the schematics before I microwave this memory card." Felicity wasn't going to take any chances when it came to O.M.A.C.  The information was too dangerous to live off her servers.

Oliver kissed the top of her head, "Try and get some sleep tonight."

"Happy hunting," Tommy kissed her forehead.

Felicity watched Oliver and Tommy leave the kitchen hand in hand.  She turned to the coffee maker and said, "Come to mama." As she prepared a pot of coffee she tried to visualize the neurotransmitter's processor.  She texted Ray to remind him to send her the details on his latest nanite test.  She was pouring her coffee when Ray texted her that he'd emailed her the information she'd requested.  Felicity sent Ray another text inviting him to lunch the next day. She needed to be convincing when she proposed an introduction to the Green Arrow.  She was confident Oliver would see what she saw once he talked to Ray and heard his vision for the suit.

Felicity marveled at the designs to Ray's nanite technology. She was in awe of the tiny machines and couldn't help but think of all the applications they could have. She wished Curtis could see the designs. For a moment, she fantasized about buying Palmer Tech so they could play with all of Ray's inventions. Felicity turned her attention back to the neural interface and the O.M.A.C. files. There would be no sleep for her that night.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always welcomed and appreciated. Hearing from you is my favorite part of the day.
> 
> Prompt requests are encouraged.
> 
> You can also come say hi to me on tumblr. http://realityisoverrated-fic.tumblr.com


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